This was a piece that I wrote for my first dueling circle response. I have Jae Onasi to thank for being my beta reader. You know lightsaber duels are a deadly dance in grace but sometimes the mere memory of it can produce the most strangest of results.

It was late into the night at a villa bordering the Jasilyn plains. The streams that flowed by the main house ran by with a gentle murmur. The music of the night was the soft songs of the weaverbirds and the crickets as they played their sweet songs on the gentle winds. The moon lit the gardens with a silvery white sheen that gave an ethereal beauty. All looked peaceful except for the sounds of battle coming from one of the rooms within.

The lightsabers clashed with a crackle that produced smoke in the already smoked thickened air. The yellow saber clashed against the violent shade of purple creating an interesting color mix with some sparks. Revan looked into the eye of her adversary. As much as she wanted to kill him, she couldn’t because Lorien was her brother’s friend. She grit her teeth as she prepared for the strike. The lightsabers clashed in a steady rhythm of parries and strikes with the smoke rising from the blades. They locked their sabers in a clash and gripped each other’s free wrist. Each struggled against the other’s strength.

“Revan it’s all right. It will be over soon,” a gentle voice sounded through her brain. She was not in the mood as she focused her attention on her foe and focused on her breathing.

Lorien glanced at her with a menacing sneer in his face. He muttered at her, “You don’t think you can stop me or my lord do you?”

Revan glanced back to where Mara had fallen. She gazed back and said forcefully, struggling against his strength, “It isn’t about strength. It’s about heart.” She pushed hard and shoved Lorien through the open bulkhead and into the thick of the field.

Lorien responded with a chuckle and swung. He gave a series of parries and thrusts consistent with the Bushida warrior way. That was a given considering that he was a native Avalonian He came swinging so hard and fast that she barely had time to block and ended up tripping on something on the ground. She had her blade up to defend herself but because she was at a strange angle, Lorien used the opportunity to give her a nick on the arm. The wound was not serious but it was enough to cause a slight blood flow that stained her robes.

Revan rolled clear of the strike that would have severed her in two. She did a forward flip and landed on her feet in a strong stance even though she was exhausted. Once on her feet, she concentrated using the subtle probing of the Force and swung in a mesmerizing pattern of strikes and parries. Her yellow blade collided with Lorien’s purple one to create a whirlwind of light dancing in deadly grace. It was gentle and produced a lull that made everything else disappear.

“Almost there. Just one more,” again the voice sounded through and someone wiped her head to clear the sweat away. Revan must have growled for there was a slight chuckle.

Lorien was unable to follow through with the deadly dance and Revan ended up landing several ‘scratches’ on both of Lorien’s arms. He managed to escape serious injury by dodging the brunt of the blows but it was enough for him to realize that he was up against a formidable opponent, an opponent who fought like a mother kataran. He increased the power of his attacks by calling upon brute strength to drive each strike as if it were a hammer. Revan felt the power in her arms as the blades collided and thought they were going to wear her down. Then…

“Almost there. Come on. One more.”

The reassurance was welcome but there was a hint of annoyance through Revan’s brain. Still with that bit of encouragement and with everything she had, she sent off a huge Force Wave that sent Lorien into the bulkhead. He was stunned when he fell to the ground. Clearly, he had never seen such power before, only heard of it. He got up slowly and that sadistic smile that he acquired and said, “You may have won this battle but will you win the war?” He then took off running in the direction of the smoke clouds that engulfed the compound. The clouds then dimmed…

“You did well,” that same voice called through the thick fog.

Revan opened her eyes to be greeted by a pair of kind, soft brown eyes and a smile bright joy. The smile hid the fatigue well as the woman patted her gently on the shoulder. Revan disoriented by what she was seeing so she closed her eyes, heaved a sigh and slowly opened them again. She glanced around to find that she was in her own room and her warm bed. Her friend and confidante with the soft brown eyes, Michaela, smiled again and handed her a small bundle wrapped in a soft, warm blanket. She said softly, “Here she is, your daughter. Say hello.”

Revan held her newborn daughter and gazed at her with a loving pair of eyes. She thought back to her memory of that battle at Garanga and why she had picked that memory. She had decided to do what Michaela did when she gave birth to Tulre and find a memory that could, if momentarily, drive the mind away from pain. It was a novel idea in since Michaela had never heard of it being used before. With the Force, anything is possible, Revan thought and chuckled. Michaela looked up and asked why she was laughing. Revan looked at her with a bemused look and said, “Memories do help during childbirth. Especially a lightsaber battle.”

Michaela began to laugh as well. Then, being rather sly, she said, “I wonder what it would have been like if you had HK in your memory.”

Revan groaned, but couldn’t prevent her laughter. Michaela joined her just as the first rays of morning light stretched its warmth over the villa.